The Trip
by TheHipster
Summary: When the 6th and 5th years at Hogwarts go on a trip to Canada and Draco and Hermione are put together, what do you get? A crazy, dangerous and funny 'vacation! on hiatus.
1. The Trip

Disclaimer – I do not own any of these characters

**Disclaimer **_– I do not own any of these characters. Only the plot. J.K. Rowling would be ashamed of me.  
_  
**The Trip**

**Hermione**  
After some recent funding from the Ministry of Magic, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall have decided to take the sixth and fifth years on an overnight trip to somewhere outside of England.  
I really was quite excited for the trip, except for one thing. To save galleons on accommodations, Dumbledore decided to pair up the houses. And guess who the Griffindors got stuck with?  
I don't know how I got paired with the biggest git of the Slytherins. Draco Malfoy, Pureblood Extraordinaire!

I don't agree with Dumbledore's excuse of putting boy/girl, Slytherin/Griffindor together for house unity purposes. As if Griffindors and Slytherins have been united - ever.

We were sent the letters in late August. My parents were thrilled, being Muggles and all. After reading the letter for the fifth time, I found out where Dumbledore was taking us. He was taking us to Canada! Isn't that amazing? Out there in the wilderness, up north, with all the little squirrels (I think that's what they're called) and deer, and… bears?

I feverishly started to pack. The letter said we should bring plenty of warm clothes and possibly some short-sleeved things, and that our school robes will not be required. I had to go shopping. I had everything in my wardrobe that Malfoy would make fun of.

I decided I'd send Ginny an owl and get her to go shopping with me. She has a sense of style.

**Draco**  
_I can't believe it. _

The school was taking us on a trip to Canada, and I got stuck with that filthy Mudblood Granger? Father wasn't pleased. I thought I'd try get him to talk to Dumbledore about it and then we could work out some sort of arrangement.

Dumbledore simply said it was for house unity. Pff, yeah, right.

I _still_ couldn't believe it, after reading my letter over and over.

**Hermione**

Gin and I shopped for hours that day.

"What about this, Hermy?" Ginny asked me. We shopped in a Muggle mall, much to my parents delight. Ginny held up an argaile sweater, in brown and pink. I thought about it, wondering if there was some way Malfoy could make fun of it. I nodded.

"How much?" I looked at the pricetag. 25.00, that was in my price range.

We looked at a bunch of other clothes, many of the styles that wouldn't work with my small chest and poofy hair. In the end, Ginny was a great help. She knew exactly what would work for me. I soon had four bags hanging off my arms full of clothes for the trip. Ginny also persuaded me into buying a parka with fake fur around the collar.

"Remind me this summer to get a job," Ginny whined, looking at her empty wallet. She had as many bags as I did.

"Me too," I said guiltily. I borrowed quite a bit of money from my parents. I was broke, but satisfied that Draco Malfoy wouldn't get to me through my outfits.

**Draco**

Mother went out today and bought me some clothes for the trip.

I didn't mind going to Canada, but being paired with Granger was the worst. She was everything I hated - a brainiac, dorky, annoying, and a crybaby. What could be worse than living with her for a year?

Maybe living with Potter, but that's beside the point.

We were supposed to meet at the airport. The muggle airport. Imagine me, a _Pureblood_, carrying my _own_ suitcase, among _muggles_! Preposterous.

Keep yourself alive, Draco Malfoy.

**Hermione**

Wow, the airport was so busy. I had only been to the airport to go to France with my parents, but seeing it from the wizarding point of view was so weird! There was all these strange people around.

I got there before Harry and Ron and Ginny did, so I was waiting for a while. There was no sign of Professor Dumbledore, either. I knew a bit about the airport, so I could maneuver around the place and work the pop machines and water fountains. I bought myself a Coke from the machine using what little change I had left over from yesterday, and sat down with my suitcase.

Soon, Harry Ron and Ginny piled in through the front doors, Ron and Ginny making a commotion. Mrs. Weasley tried to contain herself as well as her offspring, but was having as much difficulty.

"Over here, Mrs Weasley!"I yelled and waved. Ginny came running up to see me, leaving Mrs. Weasley to tug her luggage along behind her. I embraced Ginny happily, even though it was only yesterday that I saw her. I hugged Ron, Mrs. Weasley and Harry as well.

"How was your summer, Harry?" I asked.

"Same old," Harry shrugged. "I couldn't wait to get to Ron's." I smiled.

"So who are you paired with, Ron?" I couldn't help asking. Ron dug around in his pocket for his letter, and Mrs. Weasley answered for him.

"He's with Cho Chang," Mrs. Weasley beamed. Ron groaned.

"Lucky me," he grumbled.

"Yeah," Harry punched him in the arm jokingly, "Lucky you," he said laughing.

"And who are you with?" Mrs. Weasley asked me happily.

I hesitated. _Should I lie?_ I thought. _No, Molly wouldn't like that. I'll just tell her the-_

"Oi Granger!"

I groaned. That could be only one person. I turned around slowly.

**Draco**

I smirked when Granger turned around to look at me. This trip was going to be a living hell for her.

That Weasels mother was there, and she glared at me. "Don't tell me he's your partner," I heard her whisper to Granger. The Brain nodded stiffly.

"All Hogwarts Students to Gate N7-C," a voice came through the speaker above us.

"That's us, Granger!" I yelled to her. She seemed more angry than embarassed to have me as a partner. _Welcome to my world_, I thought.

I looked around for my mother, who seemed to have dissapeared while I was embarassing the mudblood. I shrugged. Then, turning to my trunk, I wished she was there to help me-I mean, take it for me. Grabbing the handle, I pulled on it, hard. I almost made myself fall over, I yanked it so hard. It pulled out of the body of the case. Ha ha, I thought. A telescoping suitcase.

I pulled it on behind me, Potter and his pals snickering. I flipped them the birdie. Feeling better, I lugged my suitcase towards the gate. Too bad I wasn't allowed to use magic.

I went through security, which was too tight, if you ask me. I don't like those clunky wand-like things that they wave near your crotch. I had to put my bag on this thing that moved my bag into a large box thing, and I guess they could check to see what was in there. If they were checking for bombs or something, too bad. My wand is lethal enough to make their stinking bird-planes blow up.

I had to sit with Granger on the plane, too. Good thing the plane was three seats wide, big enough for a seat between us. "I want the window seat, Mudblood," I told her, pushing ahead of her.

"_No way_, Malfoy," Granger retorted, pushing me in the lower back.

"Watch it!" I spat. "I don't want your _Mudblood_ germs all over me," I hissed, and took the window seat.

I watched her slowly come undone. She was muttering curses and swears under her breath through gritted teeth. "Oh, and Granger, put this above my seat, will you?" I threw my carry-on bag at her. She grabbed it, her face almost beet red in anger, and shoved it roughly in the compartment above our seats. Granger put her bag in the seat between us.

Dumbledore arrived and told us about the plane, for us ignorant ones. He had a flight attendant (who was rather good looking) explain the _seat-bult_? Like I was going to wear _that_. After she was finished, the captain's voice told us to buckle up, and that we were going to take off. I grabbed my armrest, almost panicky. What would happen if I didn't wear my - seat-bult? Would I float away, like they do in space? I buckled up, and as we took off, many of the others screamed.

Granger looked at me smugly. She knew I was scared. I mouthed the words (since she couldn't hear over the yelling), "Welcome to hell".


	2. Buttocks and the Floor

Disclaimer - I dont own any of this, except for the plot

**Disclaimer** - I dont own any of this, except for the plot. Mmkay?

**The Trip**

_Chapter Two – Buttocks and the Floor_

**Hermione**

That was the worst plane trip of my _entire life_!

Draco Malfoy was the worst traveling companion – I shudder to call him that – in all existence. Since he was sitting by the window, every time he had to go to the bathroom (either to comb his hair or to actually use it) I had to get up and let him out, otherwise he would clamber over me. That wasn't so pleasant.

Ron made it bearable by passing notes with me. We were supposed to be quiet on the plane.

"So how's the prat?" Ron wrote.

"Being stupid! Help me!" I replied.

Ron gave me back the note, with a scribbled smiley face looking rather mischievous. The force from Ron's kicking shook Malfoy's chair so much that it shook mine too.

**Draco**

"What the hell are you doing, Weasley!" My chair was shaking so hard, it was as though someone had cast a Tremolo charm on it.

"Putting some pizzazz into your chair!" Weasley roared with laughter. I wanted to slap him.

I found the _recline_ button on my chair. I jabbed it continually until my chair moved back far enough to stop Weasleys kicking.

"Ouch!" Apparently my chair pinched Weasleys leg. "Bastard."

I smirked back at him, content.

I must have fallen asleep soon after that. Granger was listening to some sort of Muggle device and she was ignoring me.

The landing of the plane woke me up. It scared the thestral-shit out of me. I must not have been wearing my seat-bult, because I slammed into the chair in front of me. I smacked my nose hard, and it started to bleed. Granger and Weasley began to laugh. I flipped them the birdie as Granger disembarked the plane.

**Hermione**

Malfoy smacking his nose made my day.

After we left the plane, Dumbledore lead us to a Greyhound bus, which everybody piled into. It was so nice; it had televisions (which puzzled many of the 5th and 6th years) and a bathroom, too.

Once again, Dra-I mean, Malfoy got the window seat. "On the way home, _I_ get the window seats." I fell asleep this time, and when I woke up, Draco was trying to inch his way around my legs without touching me. The bus had stopped.

"What are you doing?" I looked at him, scrutinizing him.

"Trying not to get Mudblood germs all over me," He snapped, and squirmed into the aisle.

I took my bags out of the compartment on the side of the bus, and followed the crowd. We were in a lovely grassy clearing in the forest. On the far side of the clearing, there was a lake, and the Mess Hall. To the right was a basketball court, and on the left were several log cabins, which were probably for sleeping in.

"I love it already!" I told Harry excitedly.

"Me too," he said, not quite as enthusiastically. He didn't seem too happy. As it turns out, he was paired with Pansy Parkinson. We traded sympathies for our partners.

"Quiet down, quiet down," Dumbledore called over the crowd. He was standing on a tree stump. "As you can see, we are at our destination. Over here is where you shall eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner," He announced, waving over at the mess hall. "There is where you shall swim during the warmer days, and boat during the not-so-warm," he pointed to the lake. "And there is where you shall sleep. Every pair needs to pick _one room_, and I stress one room, since we are lacking in space. The bathrooms are located behind the sleeping cabins. Report to this stump tomorrow at ten o'clock. I bid you all a good-night." Dumbledore hopped down from the stump, and the crowd sidled over to the sleeping cabins.

I kept looking in the crowd for a platinum blonde head, but I guess he had moved ahead to get a better room. I was under the impression that these cabins wouldn't hold up to his standards.

**Draco**

Those cabins didn't hold up to my standards. Mine had a creaky old chesterfield, one hard bed, and a bedside table with a rickety old lamp. The ceiling was watermarked, and there was a brown stain on the carpet, which was of the plainest variety.

Living here for a year was going to be hell.

Granger hadn't showed up yet, so it was my turn to claim the bed. She could sleep on the couch, or the floor. After testing the bed, I decided the floor was a better bet. I grabbed a pillow from the bed, as well as a blanket, and made myself a makeshift bed. There were two dressers in the room. I took the larger one.

After putting my clothes into the dresser, I wished my family still had our house-elf, and that I could have brought him. Mother packed more clothes than I thought she had.

Someone opened the door and called out. "Is anybody in here?" It was Granger. I didn't answer her, so she walked in.

"Well, isn't this cozy," She said a little too warmly.

"This is lower than third-class," I grumbled.

"You're a ray of sunshine," She mumbled under her breath. She took one look at my makeshift bed on the floor, then to the couch, then to the bed. Her eyes widened. Then she laughed. "Your choice."

I glared at Granger. I soon discovered a closet, with blankets and some machine labeled, 'coffee maker'. I took another blanket, and bent over to put it with my pillow and other blanket.

**Hermione**

As soon as I put my clothes into the second dresser, I turned around, to come face to face with Draco Malfoy's buttocks. He was changing his pants so his boxers were in plain view. I almost laughed.

"Would you mind getting your derrière out of my face?" I asked him as nicely as I could.

Draco didn't stand up. He turned his head so he could see me. "Why? Afraid you'll like it, Mudblood?"

That was it. I was so tired of him calling me Mudblood. I grabbed the lamp off the dresser, and threw it at him. "I hate you!" I screamed at him.

The lamp missed him by a few inches and smashed on the wall behind him. "Whoa," he stood up and turned around to face me. "Sorry, Granger, I was just trying to have a little fun…"

"Yeah, well," I struggled for words. "Just stop calling me… that." My vision was blurring with tears. I turned around so he couldn't see me cry.

"Fine." I heard Malfoy take something out of the dresser, and then the door. I flopped down onto the bed. I was exhausted from traveling, and my chest was heaving from crying. I changed into my pajamas, and went to bed.

This trip was going to be hell.


	3. Early Rising and a Quick Dip

Disclaimer - I own the plot, and only the Jimmy, Arianna and Steve characters

**Disclaimer** - I own the plot, and _only_ the Jimmy, Arianna and Steve characters.

**The Trip**  
_Chapter Three - Early Rising and A Quick Dip_

**Hermione**  
I woke up to the sound of birds twittering, or screeching, I couldn't tell the difference. I looked at my watch on the bedside table. It read 9:30 am.

"Nine thirty?" I grumbled. I was tired from jetlag. England was 5 hours ahead of Ontario time. Sunlight was pouring through the thin curtains covering the windows. Squinting, I got out of bed.

Malfoy was still asleep on the floor, sprawled awkwardly. His pajamas consisted of a white tank, and boxers. I shrugged. Mine weren't any different. A tank top and shorts.

I tried not to wake up Malfoy as I got dressed. I picked out my brown and pink argyle sweater and some jeans. As I pulled my sweater over my head, I heard Draco waking up.

**Draco**  
"What time is it?" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes.

"Nine forty-five," Granger told me cheerfully. "You have fifteen minutes to get dressed and eat."

"What?" I shook my head tiredly.

"Dumbledore wants us to meet him at ten." She explained as she put on some socks.

I groaned as he slowly stood up. "My back hurts…"

"I wonder if its from sleeping on the floor," She pretended to think aloud. "You do know that that couch folds out and into a bed, right?"

I groaned again. "No way," I rubbed his eyes again.

"Yep," she put her shoes on. "See you later," she laughed and left the cabin.

"Fuck." I got dressed as quickly as I could. A t-shirt and some jeans worked fine. It wasn't until after I left the cabin that I realized that Hermione Granger had just seen me in my underwear. I shook it off.

I didn't bother to go have breakfast; instead I headed to the stump to find Dumbledore waiting there, sipping a mug of something or other.

He looked… very not like he usually did. He was wearing khaki pants and a flannel plaid shirt, a baseball cap on his head.

"Good morning, Draco," He said cheerfully. "I trust you slept well?"

"Uh," I hesitated, thinking of the fight Granger and I had the night before. "Sure, yeah. What are we going to be doing today?"

Dumbledore smiled, his well worn face crinkling at the corners of his eyes. "That's for me to know, Draco, and for you to discover." He pulled a golden watch out of the pocket of his khakis. "Ah, nearly ten o'clock, they should be arriving now."

I stifled a yawn as the crowd of Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, Hufflepuffs and fellow Slytherins started towards the stump. Granger was with Potter and Weasley, as usual.

Dumbledore thrust the mug he was holding into my hands, and stood up on the stump, which proved to be very large around.

"Good morning, students! I trust you are all tired from the experience we call 'jetlag'. This will wear off within the next week or so." He stroked his white beard thoughtfully. "Today we are going to be introduced to the counselors, local wizards and witches who work here year round. Please welcome Miss Arianna Vaughan!" There was a loud crack as a tall witch with bright orange hair Apparated next to the stump, on Dumbledore's left. "Mister Steve Campbell!" Another loud crack, and a brown-skinned man Apparated on Dumbledore's right. "And Mister Jimmy Morrison!" A tall, fake blonde man.

They all waved and smiled, as though they were star Quidditch players and not camp counselors. Some people clapped, and someone whistled.

"These people will be living with us for the time we are here, and will be here to help and guide you. This morning they will be taking you on a hike, and will bring you back for lunch. Sixth years are with Arianna and Jimmy, fifth years with Steve and I. Good day."

**Hermione**  
_What do you know,_ I thought. _Malfoy actually got out of bed._

I wasn't going to hike with Malfoy if he was the last man on earth. I clung to Ron, who seemed rather uncomfortable with this situation. Harry was more than glad to be away from Pansy.

"Attention, sixth years!" Jimmy called out, standing on a rock. "We need you to stay with your partners, in case you get lost. I hope you all brought water bottles, and the such, because we won't be back until lunchtime. Thank you."

"And we're off!" Arianna yelled out. "Follow me, everybody!"

I could have screamed. I didn't want to hike with Draco!

Harry and Ron begrudgingly got back with their partners, but neither Draco nor I made a move to find the other in the mass of people.

Arianna lead us towards the woods, along a well-beaten dirt path. The air was full of the smell of pine trees and sap. I was glad not to be walking with Draco. He would probably trip me over a tree root, or smear sap in my hair. Jimmy noticed that I was walking on my own.

"Hey," he came up beside me; I looked at him, and quickly realized he was very good-looking. I looked away quickly so he wouldn't see me blush. "Why are you walking on your own? Where's your partner?"

"In hell," I replied a little too quietly.

"Oh, I see the problem," He said like he didn't see the problem at all. He had probably noticed Draco walking on his own, too, and put two and two together. "Is that blonde guy your partner?"

"Um," I bit my lip, hesitating. "No?"

Jimmy laughed. "Oh, I see where this is going," he smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. "Do you like him?"

I looked up at him, horrified that he would actually suggest such a thing. "No way! Not on Earth, not in hell, not on Mars!" I exclaimed a little too loudly.

Jimmy looked at me scornfully. "Well…" he looked thoughtful. "I guess I can let you go on your own," he smiled at me when my face lit up. "Just be careful, okay? There are plenty of wild animals out there."

Water bottle swinging, Jimmy jogged ahead of the crowd.

I could have kissed him. I was _more_ than happy not to hike with Draco. I practically skipped during the whole hike. I got bored about halfway through, and decided to go deeper into the forest. I slipped away from the crowd when Arianna was showing us a bush with berries on it.

**Draco**

I couldnt help but notice that Granger dissapeared into the bushes off the path. Wondering what she was up to, I followed her. Nobody would care that I was gone. So, I slipped into the bushes behind her.

It was unbelievably dark in the forest, even in the bright morning light. There was a thick cushion of pine needles on the forest floor, making it feel spongy. Granger was far enough ahead not to notice I had followed.

She seemed to be in love with the forest. Taking something from her pocket, she used it to tie her hair up, so it wouldn't catch in the low branches. She stopped several times to observe the trees, or run her hand along the bark. At one point, a squirrel jumped down in front of her, and she let out a little scream.

I couldn't help but chuckle. As I watched her, I leant against a tree. I shifted my foot, and slipped on the pine needles. I almost gasped in surprise, but she had already heard me. I cursed myself as she came towards me in the trees.

_Damn it, Draco Malfoy._

"Malfoy?" Granger came from behind the tree I was leaning on. "Wh... What are you doing here?"

I stood up straight. I hardly needed to, since I was a good six inches taller than her. "I could ask you the same thing, Granger."

She didn't glare at me, like she usually did. Nor did she slap me, or spit a half-assed comeback.

"Well-" She started and stopped herself. "I was..." She wasn't able to finish her sentence. Blushing almost in anger, she looked away from me, trying to focus on something else.

"What is it, Granger, spit it out!"

"I was bored of the hike and decided to go out on my own!" She was staring at me defiantly now.

I smirked. "Goody-goody Granger, defying her superiors?" I gasped in mock surprise.

"Stuff it, Malfoy!" She snapped, and whirled around, taking off at a steady pace. I didn't move a muscle. She was walking as fast as she could, away from me, occasionally ducking her head under a branch.

As I had hoped, she caught her hair in a branch, and she let out a little 'ow'. I made my way over, amused as she tried to get the branch unentangled from her bush of hair.

"Piss off, Malfoy," She grumbled when I came close. I chuckled. It was as though someone else was controlling my body. Lifting my arms, my hands went to her hair, and deftly removed the branch without ripping any of her hair out.

"I..." She blushed, embarassed she rejected my help. "Thanks..."

Instead of telling her it was not a problem, I walked off in the direction she had been going.

"Hey! Wait!" she called to me, and I could hear her jogging to catch up with me. I had no idea where I was going. We must have walked for a while, because I don't remember anything of it. Soon I heard running water.

_Perfect._

Sunlight was pouring in through the trees, and I could tell that that was where the water was running. I emerged from the trees, Granger close behind. We were engulfed in sunlight. Sure enough, there was a running river, about thirty feet below us. .

"Where the bloody hell are you going?" She stopped abruptly when she saw the waterfall on the river.

"I never knew you used such words," I commented in mock shock.

"Shut up," She grumbled, giving me a shove.

"Hey!" I shoved her back. "No one shoves a Malfoy."

She shoved me again. "I just did!"

I was mad by now. We were getting along, and she had to ruin it. I shoved her again, her feet perilously close to the edge. "Filthy mudblood," I grumbled.

She teetered on the cliff. She swung her arms like a windmill, and then grabbed the front of my shirt.

"Hey, wha-"

We were falling. Falling into the river. It was like someone set life in slow motion. I could feel the spray from the waterfall on my face.

"I'll get you for this, Granger!" I yelled over the roar of the tumbling water. With deafening force, we both hit the water with a splash.


	4. Exhaustion and the Wrong Berries

**Disclaimer – **I own _only_ the Jimmy, Arianna, and Steve characters. The rest is J.K. Rowling's.

**The Trip**

_Chapter Four – Exhaustion and the Wrong Berries_

**Hermione**

The water was freezing. It certainly didn't help that I was wearing jeans _and_ a sweater. When I hit the water, feet first, it was like stepping into a freezer. I couldn't help but let out a little scream.

Draco hit the water a few feet away from me, making a bigger splash than I did. The river was flowing surprisingly fast.

"Dr-aco!" I spluttered, trying to keep my head above water. "Keep your head covered!" I covered my own head with my arms, and took a deep breath. I plunged under the water; bouncing and bobbing around like a cork. I was so worried for my life, I almost forgot about Draco.

He must not have obliged to my tip, because I surfaced, and heard a loud yell. _He might have hit his head_, I thought worriedly. If he were down for the count, what would happen to me? I tried to avoid those thoughts. Letting go of my head, I kept my head above water so I could see Draco. He was floating not too far away on his back, obviously unconscious. I grabbed hold of him, and, I _hate_ to admit it, but I clung to him like he was a piece of driftwood.

I can't remember how long we floated along the river, every now and then coming up to a patch of rapids or a dead tree.

At one point, the river split off into two. The one with the stronger current was trying to take us with it. I swam as fast and hard as I could to make sure Draco and I went into the slower-flowing river.

I was exhausted, but I did it. Making sure that I wouldn't float off, I floated on my back, like Draco was.

Somewhere farther down the river, we stopped. I was puzzled. Wasn't the river supposed to continue flowing? I sat up, and discovered that I was sitting on the bottom of the river. It was only about half a foot deep.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" I whispered half to myself, half to the river. I stood up heavily, my wet jeans and sweater weighing me down. There was a bank of rocks just to the right of us, and, grabbing Draco by the collar, I dragged him over to there. It wasn't easy. He must have weighed a hundred and sixty, either that, or I was incredibly weak.

By the time Draco was safe on the rocks, the sun was right above us, beating down as if to punish us for straying off the beaten path. Exhausted, I flopped down on the rocks beside Draco. I was too tired to take my jeans off. I probably wouldn't have been able to if I wanted.

**Draco**

When I woke up, my head hurt incredibly, as though someone had dropped a tonne of bricks on my noggin. I sat up; my clothes were soaking wet.

"Bloody hell…" I whispered to myself, gingerly feeling the bump on my head. It felt huge. I looked around to see if I could recognize where I was. Then it all came back to me. I wouldn't recognize this place; this was the wilderness in Canada. And if I didn't have amnesia or something like that, then I was lucky.

I noticed Granger lying beside me. She was just as soaking wet as I was.

"Granger," I said. I was testing to see if she was awake. "Granger." I said a little louder. "Wake up, Granger."

She stirred. "What do you want, Malfoy," She grumbled tiredly.

I smirked. "I didn't know you looked so good when you're wet, why didn't you say so?" It was half true, her wet jeans stuck to her every curve, and her sweater clung to her.

She opened her eyes, and sat up, glaring at me. "You're nothing but an arrogant, pureblood jerk, who has nothing on his mind except women or sex!" She stood up, and swayed dangerously.

"Hold up," I said, wiping the smirk from my face. "I didn't mean it. Tell me what happened."

Scrutinizing me, she sat down slowly. There was a wet spot on the rocks from where she had been laying.

"Well, we fell into the river," she said, and I nodded. "And you hit your head on something. So I-" She struggled for words.

"Tried to make love to my magnificent body?" I suggested, though I was only joking. She punched my arm.

"I held on to you so we wouldn't get separated. The river forked and I pushed you into the slower stream," She said, motioning to the slow river in front of her. I was surprised she was strong enough to do that. "And we ended up here. I pulled you onto the rocks, and here we are."

I couldn't help but gape at her. I was almost a foot taller than her, and most definitely weighed more. "Holy shit, Granger."

She nodded. "Now can I sleep in peace?" She all of a sudden looked very tired.

"Yeah, go ahead, I'm gonna look around for something to eat."

Granger flopped down on the rocks tiredly. I walked along the bank of the river until I thought she was asleep, which didn't take long.

Then I stripped. I was so cold; I couldn't take it. I took my pants and t-shirt off, and hung them up on a nearby tree. Just then, a cloud passed over the sun. "Dammit," I grumbled. I searched my pants for my wand. Shit! I couldn't find it!

Alone with Granger in the middle of a virtually unknown wilderness without my wand? That's not a good situation. I was so worried. All of a sudden, I felt very vulnerable in my boxer shorts. I didn't put my clothes back on though, because I was just warming up.

Then I crept back to where Granger was sleeping. Her wand was sticking out of her jeans pocket. If I could get in there and get out without waking her up, I would declare myself amazing.

In my bare feet, I managed to get within a couple inches of her shoulder. Bending over her, I reached for her wand. She stirred slightly, mumbling something. I froze. When she stopped moving, I reached for it again. If I tried to be any more quiet or stealthy, I would have sprained something. Finally, I could feel the wood of her wand under my fingertips. I gently pulled it, and it slid out of her pocket like a dream.

_Yes!_ I screamed mentally. I pumped the air with my fist, feeling triumphant.

The first thing I would do is start a fire. I placed some stones in a circle, and with Hermione's wand, I started a fire. Mind you, it didn't work too great, considering I wasn't using my own wand. At first, it only sparked, but after waving it around a bit, it practically vomited fire.

Soon the fire was roaring and crackling. I managed to conjure up a lawn chair with her wand (only after several attempts). I wasn't about to put her wand back yet, though. I found a bush with some delicious looking berries on it. I used the wand to strip the bush of the berries. I washed them in the river, and sat down to feast.

**Hermione**

I woke up, feeling better. It was almost dark.

I found Draco sitting in a lawn chair with only his boxers on, a fire going, and stuffing his face with some kind of berries.

"What? How did you get all of this?" I was shivering, and confused.

He didn't say anything, as he had a mouth full of berries, but he did wave something in the air. I got up and looked at it. My eyes widened as I realized it was _my_ wand.

"You bastard!" I yelled at him, and grabbed for the wand. "Give it back, you – you – ass!"

"Come now, Granger," Draco teased me, letting the wand go just out of my reach. "You can be more creative than _that_!"

I thought about that for a second. "You're right, I can be more creative…" I trailed off, looking at his features in the firelight. He looked very attractive with the orange light casting blue shadows over his face. I surprised myself by leaning in and pressing my lips onto his. To show that I was only being a tease, I nibbled his lower lip.

He didn't take it quite as I expected. He swept the berries out of his lap, and kissed me forcefully back. He was enjoying it, and amazingly, so was I. He swept his tongue ever so slightly over my lips, teasing me back. I came into his lap, and wrapped my arms around his neck. The chair was perilously close to tipping over.

He fumbled with the edge of my wet sweater, contemplating taking it off. When he hesitated, I slipped one hand to his, and gently slipped my wand from his fingers. I broke the kiss, letting the cool night air engulf my lips. I smirked at him, and got off his lap. He looked infuriated.

"You…" He fumbled for words.

"Looks like I win this one, Malfoy," I grinned, and stole off to find something to eat.

I didn't venture too far into the forest, but I soon found some raspberries. Using my wand, I stripped the bush of the berries, and gathered them in my sweater, which was gradually drying off. I refused to strip in front of Draco Malfoy.

When I got back to the camp, I found Draco on all fours, his body convulsing.

"Nice act, Malfoy," I quipped, and sat down in the lawn chair. I took a closer look at him when he didn't reply. He continued to vomit until he had the dry heaves.

"What happened?" I asked, feeling almost worried.

Malfoy spat out a rope of saliva, and glanced back at me. "Those goddamned berries…" He heaved again.

I looked at the berries strewn over the rocks that he had been eating. I picked one up and looked at it. "Jesus! Draco, you've been eating Elderberries!"

"What?" He grunted weakly.

"Elderberries! They cause vomiting and diarrhea."

He groaned. "Damn…"

I nodded. "You'll just have to wait until it passes," I shrugged. He groaned and heaved again.


	5. Of Battles Won and Points Gained

**Author: Sorry this one took so long! I'll be writing LOTS more now that it's spring break!**

**Chapter Five**

Of Battles Won and Points Gained

**Hermione**

I could tell that Draco felt like dung when he woke up. Stupid idiot – he should have known better than to just randomly pick some berries and gorge himself like there's no tomorrow.

I slept well, considering the cold. Draco had the sense to move away from his revolting pile of throw-up. He had pulled the blanket over his head, and I could see bits of his blonde hair sticking out.

I had managed to get a blow-up mattress out of the air with my newly reunited wand and wand-arm the previous night. It was a lot more comfortable than lying on the rocks, I'll tell you that.

To tell the truth, I felt rather superior compared to Draco, being out in the wild. I had been camping with my parents before, and I kind of knew the basics of camping; whereas he had little to no experience, living his life in luxury. My parents never took me that much, though. Not enough to tell me what we should do next.

I left Draco sleeping by the coals of the fire. The sunrise was beautiful, purples and oranges and pinks washing over the blue of the skies like blankets. My hair was a bit damp from the morning dew. It was a bit colder today; I could almost see my breath.

Oh, I wish I had some of my packed clothes with me. My clothes were now dry, and I had warmed up a bit while sleeping.

Draco's clothes were also dry. He had enough common sense to hang them up. Well, that's one point for Draco.

So far, the score is:

_Hermione:_ 2

_Draco:_ 1

I had two, because I didn't eat elderberries, and because I brought us to safety. I guess we'd have to see who ended up winning.

**Draco**

I felt like utter dung when I woke up.

I was _so_ cold. But I _did_ have a blanket. I secretly hoped Granger had made breakfast already; but she hadn't. She was rushing around like she normally is, sort of making a circle in the ground with the rocks from the riverbank. She had already gathered a pile of twigs and sticks to make a fire, I suppose.

"Morning, _Granger_," I said a little too scathingly. I was grumpy from my own stupidity. I'd thrown up my stomach and half a lung about.

"Morning, _Malfoy_," She snapped back. She didn't say anything, but continued to make the fire. "_Flamma adduco!" _She said. Orange flames burst from the end of her wand, and licked the sticks until they caught fire. I didn't know that spell. I tucked that away for later use.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked, not intending to sound so rude.

"I would say you should make breakfast," she grumbled, "But after last night, I guess I'll make it."

I guess I really had proven her that I was an idiot. Oh well. It was only Granger. But then again, I would have to spend the rest of the year in the wilderness with her. Mentally rolling my eyes, I said, "I'll help you, if you tell me-" this was the hard part, "-if you tell me what to do."

She looked up at me, her brow furrowed in concentration, as if to find the reason why I was being serious.

"I owe you one, anyway." I shrugged, and pulled the blanket tighter around me. "You stopped me from floating off to Merlin-knows-where."

"Fine," She agreed, and tended the fire a bit more. "Put some clothes on, then, and we'll find something to eat."

"Okay, but it'd be easier if I had my wand."

"Well that's probably a mile away or more," Hermione looked at me like she couldn't believe I just suggested that.

"So? You have your wand, so why don't you use the 'Accio' charm?"

**Hermione**

I mentally smacked myself. Why hadn't I thought of that?

"Right." I finished making the fire, and put a larger branch on it so it would burn longer. I stood up, and loosened my grip on my wand, so it was comfortable. I whipped it around and out. "Accio Draco's wand!"

Nothing happened for a little while. Soon, there was a quiet whistling sound that gradually got louder, until Draco's wand came into sight, heading straight for me. I ducked just in time, and the wand struck him right between the eyes. The force knocked him backwards. To my immense satisfaction, the wand had left a red impression on his brow, much like a bindi. I inwardly smirked and laughed to myself.

I gave him an I-told-you-I-could-do-it look. I slipped my own wand into the back pocket of my jeans. I turned away to see where exactly we were in the forest while Draco magicked himself some clothes. We were standing on a little island in the river, and steep banks lined the river. Forest was all that could be seen on either side of the river.

I turned around, and Draco was struggling with his clothes. He had managed to get some clothes that I considered to be the complete opposite of what a Malfoy would wear. He had managed to get some acid-washed jeans with pre-ripped holes in them, and was working on his long-sleeved charcoal shirt. He had somehow got the shirt out of thin air, but it only had one armhole, and he was trying to fit into it.

"Need some help?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

"No," He said firmly, and struggled a bit more, until he gave in.

"Alright," He sighed, sounding defeated. "Help me."

I stood there with my arms crossed. "What's the magic word?"

"Help?" He guessed after hesitating.

I rolled my eyes and started to walk off to find breakfast.

"Alright! _Please_." He said it as if it hurt to say it.

I turned around, took my wand out, and muttered a spell. A sleeve knit itself from the place where it should have been. I also magicked a white collared shirt for him underneath his current sweater.

"I am not your servant," I reminded him, and set off to find breakfast. Whilst I was walking, I concentrated hard on magicking my own clothes. I'd done it before while I was moving, but I wasn't sure it would work out again. I pictured in my mind what would be appropriate for the Canadian winter, but still had some style. I waved my wand, and…

_Pop._ It had worked. I was now wearing a fur - fake of course - trimmed parka, moccasin-like boots, knit gloves, and some warm black sweatpants. I looked at Draco's clothes and thought; _those holes won't keep you warm_. But I smiled to myself, because I had once again proved to be more knowledgeable than my – ugh – companion.

**Draco**

I caught up to Granger, rather surprised at her gesture of help. The shirt was comfortable, and the join she had made was seamless.

Merlin's beard she walked fast. I finally came up behind her, and trying to sound sincere, I said, "Look – Granger, I'm sorry I was being a dickhead back there-"

"Yeah, you were," She spat. She did not stop walking.

I sighed. "Okay, and I wanted to – thank you for the help." He forced out, swallowing words of anger.

She was silent for a moment. "Apology accepted." She stopped and turned to look at me.

_What_? She accepted my apology? What was getting into her?

"Now we need to work together if we are to get back to the campsite."

"Well, yeah. That's why I apologized."

Granger's face went through a series of emotions: exasperation, anger, hopelessness, and finally acceptance. "Yes," she said, trying hard to keep her emotions in check. It made me feel powerful to irk her so much. "So, we have to find something to eat first. What's around here that we could eat?"

Oh. "Uhh…" I looked around. There were trees – which weren't edible. Berries – Merlin forbid I ever ate any berries again – and rocks. "There isn't anything."

Grangers palm went straight to her forehead. She then pointed to the ice-cold river. "Fish, Draco. Fish. We need to catch some fish."

"Wait." I held up a hand to silence her. "Did you just call me by my first name?"

Granger's face flushed. "This isn't the time nor the place to fight over trivialities like that!" She then walked to the rivers edge, and pulled a stick out of the water. She pulled her wand out, and holding it like a knife, she magically stripped pieces of wood off it. It soon looked like a spear of some sort.

She tossed it to me, and I clumsily caught it. "Now let's see if you aren't completely useless at everything," She said bitterly.

Turns out I wasn't too bad at spearfishing. I'd never caught my own food, or even made my own food before, so this was a big thing for me. I'd caught two fish of adequate size, while Granger had tended the fire.

I'd never liked fish; so to say that Granger didn't cook it well would be a lie. I hate to admit that she did a good job, but she did as best a job as she could. I did get a few bones stuck in my throat, though.

"So what do we do now?" I asked nonchalantly.

She thought for a minute. "Well, I guess the only thing to do is to follow the river upstream."

"Why would we do that?" I asked dubiously.

She rolled her eyes. Did I really push her buttons so much? "Because that's the way we came from, and if we follow the river, we'll find the camp."

"Oh." I said quietly, feeling stupid.

**Hermione**

_Merlin's beard, he's stupid!_

"Well, we better find some berries to eat on the way there –" I stopped. "I mean, I should find some berries," I said as scathingly as I could.

"'S' probably a good idea," He muttered to my satisfaction.

I set off to find some berries. I returned within a quarter of an hour with as many raspberries as I could carry. I managed to conjure a small bag out of the air, and deposited the fruits of my foraging into the sack.

"Come on, Malfoy," I called to him. "We should cover as much ground as we can."

He reluctantly moved from his rock, where he had been playing with the fishing spears I had fashioned. He used the dull end of one as a walking stick, and shoved the other roughly into my arms.

We walked in silence for a long time. The pace was steady, but not as fast as I would have liked. The rocks and muddy banks made the going a little slow.

"How long are we going to make this awkward?" Draco finally whined.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not pausing to talk. "How much more awkward could this possibly be?"

This quieted him for a moment. "I'm bored to tears. Being left alone with my thoughts isn't pleasant…" He said the latter in an undertone.

I stopped to look at him. "Thoughts about what?"

"Everything," He said quietly, and kept walking.

"No, stop, and tell me," I told him as I jogged a few steps to catch up with his gait.

"I don't have to tell you anything," He spat.

"Well pardon me," I raised my voice. "But I didn't let my personal problems out into the conversation!"

He stopped and gave me the dirtiest look I'd ever received, even by Malfoy standards.

"Fine," He said after a long time. "Where should I begin?" He said, throwing his arms out as if asking the very forest.

I didn't say anything. I thought I would just let him rant until he felt better.

"My father is such an – an –" he searched for words. "Asshole!" he yelled to the heavens.

His voice startled me, and almost echoed off of my ribs, it was so loud. "Go on," I encouraged him timidly.

"First off, he's horrible to me, but don't get me started on how he treats mother!" He proceeded to tell me about his mother being stuck in an abusive relationship. It seemed Narcissa Malfoy was in love with Lucius, but her husband took advantage of her love and beat her almost weekly.

I couldn't believe the guy I hated most was spilling his heart out to me. It touched and disturbed me at the same time. I made occasional comments when he paused to hear what I had to say. He had a dark childhood, and, amazingly, it pained me to hear all of it. I almost wished I'd had some horrible event during my childhood, just so I could relate to how he felt.

Draco had been so wrought with emotion that he couldn't continue his story and walk at the same time, so he sat down on a rotting log.

"All my life, I've never known what it's like to have a father who loves you," He said. His voice cracked and he did not continue.

I felt so guilty, because both of my parents had a happy relationship and almost never fought with each other or me. I hugged Draco, my own eyes full of tears of sympathy, hardly realizing what I was doing.

To my surprise, he gently rubbed my arm in thanks.

We were both rudely awakened by a snuffling grunt of a full-grown grizzly bear who had been following us.

**Author: Thanks for reading! Please review, and you'll find out what happens with the grizzly!**


	6. Chases, Wounds, and Bears, Oh My!

**Author: I'm on a roll, baybay!**

**I don't own any of this excluding the story blah, blah, blah. You get the idea.**

**Chapter Six**

_Chases, Wounds, and Bears, Oh My!_

**Draco**

In that moment, the mood changed from tender anguish to complete fear. I'd never seen a bear before; it was huge. It had thick, chestnut brown fur, and six-inch long claws - it must have been eight feet long, from nose to rear.

I didn't want to seem like a frightened idiot to Granger, but at this point in time, I don't think it would have mattered if she did think so. I didn't look at her, but her grip on my jacket told me she was just as frightened.

"What do we do?" I whispered out of the corner of my mouth, not moving my eyes from the grizzly.

"Erm," She was quiet for a minute. "Make lots of noise!"

"What?" I turned to look at her, incredulous. "That won't do anything!"

The bear roared, and pushed itself onto its hindquarters.

"Ohhh shit…!" I yelled, and grabbing Granger by the coat, I pulled her away from the log, and taking her hand, I started to run.

"Draco!" She screamed as the bear started after us. "Stop, stop! I've got an idea!"

She let go of my hand, and, taking an almost heroic stance, pulled out her wand.

"Granger, what the fuck are you doing?!" I yelled at her. "That's a fucking bear, not your stupid cat!"

She turned to look at me. "Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

I hesitated. After the trip down the river, and the heart-to-heart conversation we'd just had, I supposed that I could. "Yeah, but- LOOK OUT!"

The bear had caught up to us, and was making to leap onto Granger. She turned around and screamed a spell I couldn't hear over the bears roar. The bear flew backwards through the air, landing on it's back. It wasn't dead, though - just angrier.

"Come on!" I yelled. I tossed Granger over my shoulder to her protests, and ran as fast as I could.

"Malfoy, put me down! I can handle this stupid beast," she screamed at me, beating my back with her fists.

I didn't say anything. She should have guessed that I was being of more help to her than her stupid stunning charms.

The forest was whizzing by in a blur of greens and browns. I couldn't hear the bear behind us; my blood was pounding in my ears and my heart was in my mouth. I made a fatal mistake and tripped on a root. Granger went flying out of my grip, and I got a faceful of dirt and rocks.

The grizzly hadn't been far behind us; I could see it, mere feet away. "Hermione, your wand! Give me your wand!"

Without hesitation, she threw it to me, landing two feet short of my reach. I squirmed over to it, and in a moment of desperation, as the grizzly was nearly on top of me, I screamed, "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

**Hermione**

The last thing I heard Draco Malfoy say was, "SECTUMSEMPRA!" The one other time I'd heard of that spell was when Draco had it used upon him, when Harry had been the wandbearer. That story had been enough to scare the pants off me, so to hear it used in earshot sent shivers up and down my spine.

I could no longer see Draco; he was buried underneath the bulk of the grizzly. The good thing was that the bear no longer moved. The bad thing was that I couldn't even see Draco to tell if he was alive or not.

"Draco…?" I called out tentatively. I wasn't sure if the bear was dead or not. I stood up and slowly walked over to the battleground. Draco's hand was sticking out from underneath the bear.

I felt extremely tearful at that moment. He was dead – I was sure of it. He'd died saving my life, my sworn enemy who'd hated me since the day we'd met. I gently eased my own small hand into his. It was still warm.

The tears began to flow freely. I mourned my nemesis, whom had seemed almost human to me in the last hours of his life.

My hand felt a slight pressure. What was that? I looked down, and Draco's seemingly bodiless hand was twitching.

"Oh my god," I whispered. "Oh my god," I repeated. "Draco!" I screamed. "I'm going to get you out!"

I frantically began pushing at the body of the grizzly. It was sodden with blood – I couldn't tell if it belonged to the beast itself or to Draco. I shoved and tugged and pulled and dug my heels into the ground. It seemed to help a little. Draco was pushing from underneath. The grizzly must have weighed almost 1,000 pounds. I had to find another way to get the dead weight off my companion.

I suddenly had an idea. I stopped pushing and shoving the corpse to search for a small log or solid branch to pry the bear off. It didn't take long for me to find one. I quickly dragged it back to the horrible sight, and, with difficulty, I pushed it under the fatty stomach of the grizzly. I had to step on the other end to even make it budge. I had to find another log to stick underneath the first, to make a sort of lever. Good thing I'd been in muggle school long enough to know about simple machines.

After what seemed like hours, I managed to help Draco free his upper body from the dead bear. He was covered in blood – his silvery hair was now crimson, and his clothes were scarlet.

He was so tired. I couldn't blame him. I was tired too, but I had to help him.

"Here, I'll try pulling you out," I told him. I got him to sit up a little, so I could loop my arms over his chest, like I was hugging him from the back.

"I'll pull on three. One… two… three!" I pulled as hard as I could, digging my heels into the soft soil. Within seconds, he was free.

"Oh… man…" Draco could barely keep his eyes open. I could see that he had a gash on his left shoulder from the bear. "I think a few of my ribs are broken," He muttered, gingerly feeling them.

"I'll help them heal with my wand," I told him, and I propped his head up before I went to look for my wand.

I returned in a few minutes with my wand. The tip was split, and was threatening to fall off. I made a quick repair with one of Draco's shoelaces.

"You have to be really still if I'm going to repair your ribs," I told him. "Take a deep breath, and on three…"

His scream will forever stay part of my memory. It was an extremely painful process healing bones without some sort of painkiller. At least he wouldn't puncture a lung or harm his internal organs now.

I also sealed his bleeding wound. I used a type of cauterizing spell to help it scab over.

"That will be itchy for at least a week while it heals-"

He interrupted me with the most heartfelt hug I'd ever received. I admit I cried a little that afternoon. We must have sat together for hours, just holding each other.

Later that afternoon, once Draco had regained some strength, we trekked back to the river, so we could wash our bloodstained clothes. Draco was like some bizarre cartoon character; the blood had dried in his hair, turning it brown and making it stick out at odd angles. His clothes were browning with the blood as well. Mine weren't nearly as bloody, and I was thankful for that.

**Draco**

"Okay, Granger, here's the deal," he told me at the river bank. We'd reached a part of the river where it wasn't as fast flowing or deep. "You don't look at me, I don't look at you. Deal?"

"Deal," She breathed, and waded into the far side of the river.

I immediately dunked my head, earning myself a short-lived headache from the cold. I ran my hands through my hair, disgusted that I was smelly and covered with blood that was that of an animal. It was almost scary to see the trail of crimson that washed down the tributary. I proceeded to take of my clothes, and one by one, I washed them as best I could, and then set them on the rocks of the bank to dry. I could tell Granger was probably doing the same.

I chanced a glance at her. She was about ten feet behind me, wearing nothing but her bra and panties. Her skin was pale and flawless. I looked away. It wasn't right for me to be looking at her. We'd agreed to not look at each other- wait. Who was I kidding? Alone in the woods where no one would find us? I was crazy not to look.

I turned to look again. She put her clothes on a log that was sticking out of the riverbank. She squatted into the water to wash the clots of blood out of her golden brown hair.

"I told you not to look at me," She said suddenly, making me jolt.

"I'm not," I lied, and pretended to be washing off my arms.

"You're a liar," She said, as she turned to look at me. She didn't sound angry – this both pleased and confused me. I too, was in nothing but my underwear. I felt exposed. You might think that having as good a physique as I do, I wouldn't feel so bare – but when your boxers are the only things covering you up and they're sticking to you, it's pretty revealing.

She looked me up and down, pausing to look at my – ahem, boxers. That didn't stop me from looking at her goods either.

She was well built. Her arms were satisfactory – her breasts were small-ish and well rounded. Her abdomen was flat, and her legs – _oh_, her legs were magnificent. They were long and perfectly toned, and they were driving me crazy. I didn't realize I was walking towards her until I was nearly face to face with her. She wasn't particularly beautiful – I'd seen better – but she had a natural prettiness to her, pure and innocent.

Suddenly we were pressed up against each other. Her lips were attacking mine, and her legs wrapped around my waist. I felt myself harden. I ran my hands up and down her long, smooth legs. Her tongue grazed my lips, requesting entry. I obliged, of course, sending my own tongue forth. We were both hot, our lips planting hot kisses on cool skin. I remember undoing her bra, pleasuring her breasts and removing her panties. She took my boxers off, and planted a hot kiss on me. She didn't stop there – I stopped her before I spilled. She grinned at me, and then kissed my hungry lips again. I moaned, and took control.

I'm sure our cries made the birds in the forest depart from their perches in fright.

**Author: Review please!**


	7. Sunset Fulfillments and A Visitor

**Author: _Please_ read and review. Thank you for the 08 reviews, haha. )**

**Chapter Seven**

_Sunset Fulfillments and A Visitor_

**Hermione**

I guess you could say that the two of us slept _really_ well that night.

To this day, I think that that night was one of the most life changing for me. I can't speak for Draco, but I think it changed him, too. I know, I know, he wasn't the most sensitive guy before this whole ordeal, and he wasn't any more so afterwards. I still think, deep down inside, he felt changed much in the same way I did.

To say that I didn't enjoy the sex would be a lie; in fact, I enjoyed it very much. I'm not proud that we did have sex, but to a degree, I'm glad we did. I think it brought us closer on a more emotional and physical level. On the other hand, if we managed to fall back into our old habits of hating each other's guts, I think he would've used it against me. I hoped it would never come to that.

I think it was a miracle that our clothes didn't wash away in the river that night. Come to think of it, we were ridiculously careless; I could have lost my wand, and that could have given us a huge disadvantage.

Once we were – um – finished, we put our clothes back on. Unfortunately, the blood had stained Draco's jeans and sweater. Not like that mattered right then. We were in the middle of trying to survive, not start a fashion show.

"Draco," I started. We were sitting in the ever-darkening forest with a small fire blazing brightly in front of us. "Do you really hate muggle-borns so much?" I ventured to ask.

He was silent for a long time. The orange firelight cast dark shadows on his tired face. "No."

I looked at him, and nudged him gently to urge him to continue.

"My father's doing. He wanted a son who hated mud – I mean, muggle-borns – as much as he did."

"Oh," I said quietly. "I'm so sorry, Draco."

He smiled at me, and hugged me tight. "Don't be. I should be the one apologizing."

We were silent for a long time. "You're not going to tell everyone what happened when we get back," he looked at me, worry in his eyes. "Are you?" he added the last bit in a quiet tone.

I laughed. "No, no I won't." I rested my head on his shoulder. "I know how much your reputation means to you."

"This is a real eye-opener for me," He said, gazing into the dimming fire. I looked at him in questioning. "I mean, how unlikely would it be that you and me would – you know – have sex if it wasn't for these past two days? It wouldn't happen. It's amazing and bullshit at the same time that our school houses prevent stuff like this from happening."

"Not to mention parents," I said quietly.

Draco nodded solemnly. Then he looked at me with his grey eyes. They looked almost orange in the light. "I'm glad it happened."

"Me too."

I fell asleep in his arms.

**Draco**

The next morning we were back to our old relationship, yelling and fighting like last night had never happened.

"I can't believe you didn't use the fishing spears to kill the bear!" Hermione was screaming at me. "Now my fucking wand doesn't work anymore!" She threw it down angrily.

"Sorry I'm not some caveman who kills with pieces of wood!" I yelled back.

"Oh, what do you call a wand, then?" She spat acidly.

"I give up, you're impossible," I grunted.

"Yeah, well, you're incorrigible!"

"And I'm supposed to know what that means?" I said lazily.

We'd been walking through the woods all morning, until we came out of it and into a meadow. I was tired, so I flopped in the tall grass. It was hot today – which didn't make any sense to me, since the past three days had been cold like back home.

Ugh, home – I didn't want to think of it. I wanted to be there as much as I didn't want to. Thinking of the rich squash soup and fried potatoes with chicken and turkey and pork – it drove me crazy. I had to argue with Hermione to occupy my mind.

"I wouldn't expect someone of your brain capacity to even know how to spell it," She shot back.

"Whatever, Granger," I said lazily. "Let's take a break."

"No breaks," She snapped. "I would rather be tired and be discovered than be alert and nowhere to be found," She was looking rather flustered now.

Neither of us looked as worn out as we felt. Granger's clothes were covered in dirt and pine needles, and my jeans had large holes in both knees that hadn't been there when I conjured the pants. We were worse for wear.

"Merlin, I would kill for a turkey sandwich right now," I groaned.

"Shut up, you're making me hungry-"

"With fresh bread and lettuce-"

"I said, shut – up-" She sat on me.

"Get off me-" I grunted, and gave her a shove.

"Nope," She said firmly, a smug grin on her face.

"Oh, well if it's going to be like that…" I furiously attacked her sides in a tickling frenzy.

"Ahh!" She squealed and squirmed, laughing. "Draco, stop it!"

We wrestled and laughed in the tall grass, flattening wildflowers and anthills.

I pinned her on her back, my hands on her shoulders. "You know," She said, plucking a wild crocus from the grass and trailing it up and down my arm, "I wouldn't mind getting away from Hogwarts with you."

I examined her face. She looked really happy. Her eyes were half closed and she looked sleepy, but happy. "With me?" my voice cracked.

"Yes, with you," She said in a teasing tone.

"I don't follow," I said uncertainly.

"Well, we graduate at the end of this school year, and we can take a full year off before we decide what we want to do for the rest of our lives. What better way to spend it than with someone you'd like to get to know?"

I rolled off her. "I doubt my parents would like that."

"Who cares about your parents? We could take some money and go somewhere – India, China – hell, we could even come to Canada."

"I think I've seen enough of Canada to last me a lifetime," I grumbled.

"Well, I don't think it's all bears and rivers," She said, holding the purple flower up to my nose for me to smell. I inhaled. It had a faint, flowery scent.

"Hopefully not. What about the Weasel and Potter?" I asked. "Won't they want to spend the year with you?"

Hermione snorted. "As if it's their decision who I spend my time with. They've already proven to me that they want to be the only ones who I hang with."

I nodded in understanding. "Sounds a lot like my parents. Father, anyway."

"Hey, I'm really sorry that you have to live with that excuse of a human being," her said in a caring tone. "I really appreciate you telling me all of that."

I looked at her, incredulous. "Why? It's a horrible story, and no one should have to hear that."

"Because now I know why you act the way you do. I know what it would be like to walk a mile in Draco Malfoy's shoes."

"They aren't very nice shoes, are they?"

Hermione grinned. She planted a kiss on my cheek. "I'll never chastise you for your actions ever again."

"Good," I said. "Now you won't mind me snogging you, then, will you?" She grinned as I swooped down on her lips.

I couldn't explain how right it felt to be snogging Hermione Granger in a meadow in the middle of nowhere.

She broke the kiss, and pushed me off. "Now I know you have your needs, but we really should keep going."

I licked my lips, and nodded. "I really could use a feather bed right now."

Hermione stood up. "Too bad all you have waiting for you at the camp is a pull out couch bed!" She laughed, and skipped off through the meadow.

"Not if I get there first!" I teased and jogged after her.

It was a long afternoon, going across that meadow. We talked about everything under the sun – food, music, art – I admit my heart wasn't in that conversation – favourite spells, family. I learned a lot about Granger in that afternoon.

"Your family sounds nice," I admitted, feeling rather envious, after she told me about their professions and where they lived. "It sounds like living as a Muggle would be difficult, though."

"Not really," she said. "It's quite fulfilling actually. You get the satisfaction of knowing you did something on your own."

I snickered. I'd never done anything worthy of note in my entire life, being pampered by servants my whole life.

"Just because you're rich," Hermione punched me joshingly.

"Yeah, well, what can I say?" I laughed. "I've always had everything given to me on a silver platter."

"You certainly didn't get me on a silver platter," Hermione said slyly.

"That's true, I had to work for you," I laughed again and laced my arm around her waist.

"You know," Hermione started, "I've always had a fantasy about having sex in a meadow."

"Really?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at her. This was a rather unexpected, but welcome turn of events. Who knew Granger the bookworm had sexual fantasies?

"Yes," She smirked at me.

"Care to fulfill that fantasy, Granger?"

"Oh, _yes_," She turned to me and pushed me backwards. "But this time, I'm on top."

"Sure," I said quickly, with no objections. I took off my shirt as she unzipped her jacket and removed her own shirt. We were wearing our birthday suits in no time flat.

With that fantasy fulfilled at sunset, we both held each other close in the tall grass. I never knew how close to the earth you could feel. The sky was turning shades of purple blending into pink blending into orange. The tall grasses were washed with yellow orange tones. It made me feel intoxicated with a sleepy sort of feeling. It was a little late for me to notice that my wound had opened and was bleeding profusely.

"Shit!" I sat bolt upright, and clenched my arm. "Hermione, my shoulder's bleeding again!"

"Oh, damn, um," She scrambled around for her wand. She lifted into my view. The tip had finally snapped off.

"I believe I can fix that," an all too-familiar voice offered.

I swear, the both of us almost jumped right out of our skins.

"Dumbledore?"

Frantically, we tried to keep our dignity and cover up our vitals.

"Don't worry about that," Dumbledore waved the matter off. "I'm wearing my anti-nudity glasses. Invented for children, don't you know."


	8. The Shadow Proved the Sunshine?

Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**  
_The Shadow Proves The Sunshine - Maybe_

**Hermione**  
I couldn't believe it – Dumbledore finally found us, and had probably watched us in a moment of intimacy. Well – I'm not sure about the watching bit. He was an old man, and maybe he had shown up after we had finished? That was something I'd gladly never find out.

I scrambled to get my clothes on. I got dressed so fast, I'm sure I'd put my underwear on inside out. Draco rushed to dress as well.

"Ah," Dumbledore sighed happily, and clapped his hands together. "Young love. Shall we return to camp?"

Draco and I nodded hurriedly, both of us wanting to get out of this awkward situation.

"Very well. Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, please take my arms, and we shall be off."

Draco looked at me uncertainly, but obliged. I looped my arm through Dumbledore's. I noticed he smelled faintly of clean socks.

"Divello, and off we go!" Dumbledore shouted loudly and grinned.

I yelled in surprise as a great green gaping hole opened up in the meadow in front of us. It was as if someone had cut through the very dimension and peeled it back to reveal a swirling portal about six feet wide. Dumbledore stepped right into it, dragging Draco and I with him.

I landed face-first – hard - on solid ground. Draco thumped to the soil beside me, while the headmaster set down on his feet, light as a feather.

"Camp, sweet camp," Dumbledore grinned widely again. The green wormhole somehow brought us back to the campsite. It was dark, and all of the other students were eating in the mess hall, judging by the light pouring from the building. Dumbledore turned to us. "I will not ask you about your ordeal," He said, and I let out a breath of relief. "But I trust you not to – how do I put it – let everyone know of it."

He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Now I imagine the two of you are more than ready for a nice, hot bath and some food. Off you go," he smiled and winked at us from over his half-moon spectacles.

I obliged, and headed straight for the showers, Draco in tow.

"That was a little more than awkward," Draco breathed.

"Ohh yeah," I agreed. I stopped, and turned to my enemy-turned-lover. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"What is it?" He asked me quietly.

"I… I'm afraid-"

"That things will be like they always have? That we'll go back to hating each other?"

I nodded. I bit my lip to stop me from breaking down in front of him.

He hugged me tenderly, his strong arms holding me close. "I can't promise anything –" He whispered quietly. I looked at him, almost angry that he would even suggest – "But of course things are going to be different. I won't promise that I'll be nicer to your friends, though."

"I didn't expect you to." My voice cracked with emotion. "But I do expect you to shower – you reek of bear."

He grinned, and kissed me on the forehead. "Have a good shower. I'll meet you back in the room."

I nodded, and watched him walk off to the men's showers. I sidled off slowly to the women's showers. I took my time. I wasn't ready to face Harry and Ron just yet.  
Who was Draco kidding? Of course things would eventually go back to the way they had been. Harry and Ron would turn me against him, or I might have risked my friendship with them.

I turned on the shower radio – it was a Muggle radio, of course. I stripped, and stepped into the shower stall. As the hot water washed over me, I cried. I cried, not only because of the doomed relationship I'd thrown myself in, but for the whole journey thus far. It had been emotionally and physically draining – I let it all out. I cried, long and hard, until I couldn't cry anymore.

The music on the radio seemed to be mocking me the whole time – until a familiar song took over the airwaves. It was rather fuzzy with static, but I recognized the song as one of my Muggle favourites.

"Two scared little runaways hold fast till the break of day, where the shadow proves the sunshine," the singer crooned.

That was it. I had to let the shadow prove the sunshine. I had to tough it out to get the reward. It seems silly to think a song gave me such hope, but it did. It told me to hang in there, and prove to Harry and Ron that my love for Draco wasn't ill placed. With renewed vigor, and a squeaky clean body – thank Merlin for showers – I headed back to our cabin.

When I returned to the room, I found Draco sitting on the couch in a tee shirt and his boxers, reading his post. "I put yours on the nightside table." He muttered, not moving his eyes from his letter.

I nodded, and sifted through the envelopes. There was a letter from my muggle book club, one from my parents, and one from my muggle friend, Mariella. I left them on the table to read later.

I put my pajamas on, and turned to Draco. "I'm going over to Ginny's cabin for the night," I told him. I really wanted to talk to Ginny, and it was likely that Harry and Ron would be there too.

"But-" Draco started and then stopped himself.

"Don't you think you've had enough hanky-panky for one day?" I asked him, incredulous.

"I can never have enough," Draco said huffily.

"Well, let me tell you, Dumbledore sure put me off," I shuddered at the memory.

"Oh yeah," Draco stared into space for a minute. "Gross," he then shuddered as well.

"I'll eat breakfast with you in the morning, okay?" I told him, and pecked him on the cheek. He covered his post, as though he didn't want me to see it. I did notice a small, red envelope stand out from the other white parchments.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," He said quickly, as though he didn't want me there.

I didn't say anything, but left quickly before my curiosity got the better of me.

As I expected, Ron and Harry were giving Ginny a visit. I heard their voices through the thin plaster walls of the cabin before I saw them. I rapped my knuckles on the door and loudly exclaimed, "Pizza's here!"

Ginny opened the door, and her face quickly changed from confusion to happiness. She leaped onto me, hugging me tightly. "Hermione!"

Ron and Harry grinned, and the redhead shot to his feet. "Hermione! Blimey, where have you been?"

"I'll explain as soon as Gin gets off me," I smirked at Ginny and she detached herself from me. I reached in my pajamas pocket to pull out my wand, and was sadly reminded that it was lying in the meadow, miles away in splinters.

"Gin, can you cast some concealment charms?" I asked her and she nodded and set about the small room casting the spells.

"So," Harry looked at me and offered me a spot on the bed beside him. "What happened? We were all worried sick about you."

"It's a long story," I said truthfully.

"We've got all night, mate," Ron leaned forward on the couch, ready to listen to my story as Ginny slumped down beside him.

So, getting comfortable, I began my story with the hike, and then progressed to the float down the river and the journey back. I left out the bit about the sex in the river and then the meadow; I knew none of them would be particularly pleased to hear it, Ron especially.

"I can't believe you actually saved the git," Ron threw his hands up in the air. "You're unbelievable, Hermione," he seemed almost angry.

"Chill out, Ron," Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "He owes her one now."

"More like his life," I muttered quietly.

Harry didn't say anything.

"And to top it off," I added, as though the excursion has been a pain in my ass more than a brand new meeting of two people. "I broke and lost my wand. Now what am I going to do?"

"You'll probably have to mail your parents and get them to buy you a new one," Ron suggested.

"That wouldn't work, Ron," Harry butted in. "You know from experience that a wand only fully obeys the person who it picks."

Ron nodded sheepishly.

"I guess I'll have to pay my parents a visit," I sighed. "I'm sure Dumbledore would understand."

"Yeah, well, I told Lavender I'd be back before ten," Ron groaned when the three of us gave him incredulous looks. "She said she'd lock the door on me!" He blurted out, offended we would think of such a situation.

"Oookay, Ron," I rolled my eyes. Then turning to Ginny, I asked, "Gin, who's your bunking partner, anyway?"

"Dean, but he's staying at Seamus's lodge tonight."

Ron raised an eyebrow at his sister.

"Don't give me that look, Ronald," Ginny glared at him. "You and me both know I dumped Dean last year, and we don't exactly get along," She put on an expression that clearly said 'and-that-is-final'.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Alright. C'mon, Harry. Let's go," but before they left, he pointed to Ginny. "I swear to Merlin if he lays a finger on you-"

Harry grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out of the room.

"God," Ginny moaned. "He is _so_ protective, the hypocrite!"

I laughed. "Tell me about it. So tell me, _really_," I said excitedly. "What _is_ the scoop with you and Dean?"

I didn't want to tell Ginny about me and Draco, so I decided that letting her talk about her relationships would get my mind off the blonde.

It didn't work.

All night I had dreams of Draco. Most were pleasant dreams – dreams of him holding me in his arms, dreams of us – joining – again.

That morning I went to see Dumbledore about my wand.

"Ah, yes, I realize the predicament, Miss Granger," He said. "I will acquire the appropriate forms, and we shall get you a new wand."

"Thank you, sir," I said quietly. "I'm very grateful-"

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore looked down at me from over his half-moon spectacles. "I advise you to take caution with Mr. Malfoy."

"What do you-"

"He is – troubled," Dumbledore said quietly. "That is all I can tell you. Now, you should be off breaking the fast," He urged. "We've got a full day ahead of ourselves."

I nodded and thanked him again.

The mess hall was full of students and wonderful scents of breakfast foods. I wandered down the cafeteria line, and picked out a ham, cheese and broccoli omelet with a blueberry muffin and glass of milk. I proceeded to find Draco, sitting at a table without Crabbe and Goyle, reading the Daily Prophet from the previous day.

I sat down beside him, feeling in high spirits.

"Sleep well?" I asked him as I took a bite of my omelet.

He grunted. That was quite out of character. I didn't irritate him further with more questions, but ate in silence.

As it turned out, Dumbledore was right to tell me to get a full breakfast – we had yet another hike after breakfast. This time, we were allowed to walk with anyone. I chose to walk by myself, since I had a lot to think about.

Draco's actions filled my mind. Why had he acted so cold towards me this morning? What was contained in the Howler he had received, and whom was it from? Maybe I was right about both of us going back to hating each other.

I didn't pay any attention to the nature around me, I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't hear Draco call my name.

"Granger!"

I turned around. So far my suspicions were correct - he'd gone back to calling me by my last name. "What?"

"Uh, listen," He seemed agitated. "Look, this isn't easy for me. I-"

He was _really_ agitated. What was bugging him?

"Spit it out," I encouraged a little testily.

He glared at me. "Okay, _fine_. My father sent me a howler last night. I'm not to talk to you or be near you any more. Mingling with mudbloods, you know," He said the last part acidly.

"Fine," I spat back. "I can't stand the high-horse of you Malfoys anyway," I emphasized his last name.

He let out an angry sort of breath and stomped off ahead.

_Well_, I thought bitterly to myself. _I wonder how Lucius Malfoy would react if he knew his son was pounding vag with a Mudblood._

* * *

**Author: Thanks very much for reading. R&R as usual, please and thank you. :3 Please note that the song Hermione listened to in the shower is called "The Shadow Proves The Sunshine" by Switchfoot. I wish I owned it, like the rest of Harry Potter.**


	9. This Is Your Song

**The Trip**

_This is Your Song_

As it turned out, buying a Canadian-made wand and taking it home with me to England would have been violating several Canadian laws. Therefore, the Department of International Magical Affairs of Canada approved my necessary trip home, and I departed by Apparition before the weeks end.

It was a complicated process that I did not remember much of, other than many Canadian wizards arranging a safe area for me to Apparate with one of their own.

Seeing my mother again was indescribable. My longing to see her again had not occurred to me until I saw her, yet at the same time, I yearned to be back in the wild of northern Ontario with my friends – and Draco.

The three short days I spent at home in London were the longest days I've ever lived. It seemed that I couldn't get any sleep, and not because of the time difference. My bed felt hard and unwelcoming; I lay awake from dusk until dawn.

Ollivander's wand shop was noticeably smaller that day than the day I'd been in there six years ago.

"Ah, Miss – Granger, was it?" The old man's face was pulled into fine wrinkles as he smiled at me. I nodded and returned the smile.

"Broken or misplaced your wand, my dear?" It sounded like he'd said that very line many times before. He disappeared into the maze of shelves before I could answer.

He returned in two minutes with about eight or nine thin boxes of wands, and immediately started handing me the magical slivers of wood. The first three wands produced nothing more than a jet of green smoke, a sound like a car horn, or rendering a book of Ollivander's to a pile of ashes. The fourth wand seemed to fit into the contours of my hand, as well as conjured three long orange feathers.

I doled out the coins I owed Mr. Ollivander, when he pushed several back.

"That's how much I owe you, Mr. Ollivand-" I began when he abruptly interrupted me in his quiet voice.

"I will not make someone so suited for such a wand overpay." I still didn't understand. He leaned over the counter and breathed, "This wand in your hands is destined for greatness. I don't know any more than that, but I trust that you _will_ do great things."

I left Ollivander's shop, my brain still buzzing about what he'd said. He certainly was no Trelawney, so I had no doubts as to the authenticity of his prediction, only about how I would bring these 'great things' about.

My brain wouldn't let me sleep that night. I was to return to the Hogwarts camp in Ontario tomorrow, which excited and upset me a little. I couldn't wait to getting back to using magic with Harry, Ron and Ginny, but the prospect of seeing Draco wasn't terribly appealing. After all, our last meeting was quite bitter, and he hurt me with his harsh words.

I turned on my muggle radio that night and tried to fall asleep to the local radio station – I could never fall asleep in complete silence. This plan failed miserably.

"_It's a little bit funny this feeling inside, I'm not one of those who can easily hide. I don't have much money but boy if I did, I'd buy a big house where we both could live_." The soft piano intro of Elton John's 'Your Song' almost brought me to tears. It was one of my favourite muggle songs, and my absolute favourite Elton John song.

"_And you can tell everybody this is your song. It may be quite simple but now that it's done, I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is while you're in the world_."

By the time Elton's voice sang, "_Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen_," I was crying like a baby. Draco's face was all I could see. I made a promise to my heart that night as I cried myself to sleep.

* * *

**Author: Sorry it was so short. I'll hopefully get more into the swing of writing, and update more frequently.**

'**Your Song' lyrics by Elton John. I love that song.**


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